9.  The applicant was born in 1950 and lives in Bytom, Poland.
10.  On 22 November 1991 the applicant lodged with the Człuchów District Court an action against the State Treasury. He claimed 570,000 old zlotys (PLZ) in compensation for his belongings which had been stolen in December 1989 while he had been detained in the Czarne prison. The applicant contended that the theft had been committed by the prison officers who had intervened in order to end the riots in the prison.
11.  On 27 November 1991 the Człuchów District Court exempted the applicant from the court fees and rejected his request for legal aid considering that the case did not call for the participation of counsel.
12.  On 25 February 1992 the District Court stayed the proceedings. It considered that, since the prosecution had initiated criminal proceedings against the prison officers involved in ending the riots in the Czarne prison and the applicant had been listed as one of the victims, the outcome of those proceedings might be relevant to the adjudication of the applicant's claim.
13.  On 3 May 1993 the applicant increased his claim to PLZ 31,720,000.
14.  On 26 July 1994 the District Court annulled its earlier decision to join the action concerning the compensation for stolen belongings with the action concerning compensation for injuries (see paragraphs 34‑36 below) and decided to resume the proceedings concerning the former action.
15.  On an unspecified date the Człuchów District Court requested the Zabrze District Court to take evidence from the applicant who was detained in a prison located within the jurisdiction of that court.
16.  On 19 January 1995 the Człuchów District Court requested the Łęczyca District Court to take evidence from several witnesses for the applicant who were detained in a prison situated within the jurisdiction of that court. However, the Łęczyca District Court was unable to comply with the request as the witnesses had already been released from the prison.
17.  The first hearing was held by the Człuchów District Court on 3 February 1995. It was adjourned since the applicant had not been properly served with the summons. During the next hearing, which was held on 17 February 1995, the court heard the witnesses requested by the applicant.
18.  In the meantime, the Człuchów District Court on several occasions requested other district courts to take evidence from the witnesses for the applicant, who were detained in prisons located within the jurisdiction of those courts. However, the requests were declined because the witnesses could not be heard since they had been transferred to other prisons.
19.  During the hearing held on 7 March 1995 the Człuchów District Court heard a witness, who according to the applicant's submissions had taken from him his belongings during the riots in the Czarne prison.
20.  On 21 April 1995 the Człuchów District Court received from the Słupsk District Court evidence taken from one of the witnesses. On the same date the Człuchów District Court also received a statement taken from the applicant by the Jastrzębie District Court.
21.  No hearing was held in 1996.
22.  During the hearing held on 25 February 1997 the Człuchów District Court decided to request the Warsaw District Court to take evidence from one of the witnesses, a certain S.W. As the Warsaw District Court was not responding to that request, the Człuchów District Court renewed it on several occasions.
23.  On 16 May 1997 the President of the Człuchów District Court replied to the applicant's inquiry about the progress in the proceedings, informing him that immediately after the Warsaw District Court submitted evidence taken from S.W., a date for the next hearing would be fixed. He also expressed the opinion that although the conclusion of all the proceedings resulting from the riots in the Czarne prison would serve the proper administration of justice, it was not possible to state the date on which the proceedings in the applicant's case would end.
24.  On 16 June 1997 the applicant complained to the Ombudsman about the unreasonable length of the proceedings in his case. On 14 August 1997 the Ombudsman transmitted the complaint to the President of the Człuchów District Court. In a letter of 18 August 1997 the President informed the applicant that the date for hearing S.W. had been fixed by the Warsaw District Court for 5 September 1997 and that the next hearing before the Człuchów District Court would be scheduled immediately after it received evidence taken from that witness.
25.  In a letter of 3 February 1998 the President of the Civil Section of the Człuchów District Court informed the President of the Słupsk Regional Court, who had inquired about the length of the proceedings in the case, that the Warsaw District Court still had not taken evidence from S.W.
26.  On 5 February 1998 the President of the Słupsk Regional Court responded to the applicant's complaint about the length of the proceedings submitted on 19 January 1998. In particular, he informed the applicant about the difficulties faced by the Człuchów District Court in taking evidence from the witnesses who were being transferred between different prisons and whose addresses were therefore difficult to establish. He also pointed out that the Człuchów District Court was not responsible for the delay in hearing one of the witnesses by the Warsaw District Court and promised that the latter court would be again requested to take evidence from that witness.
27.  The hearing held on 26 June 1998 was adjourned.
28.  In a letter of 25 August 1998 the applicant inquired of the President of the Człuchów District Court about the state of the proceedings in his case. On 31 August 1998 the President informed the applicant that the hearing held on 26 June 1998 had been adjourned because he had not been served with the summonses, since the court had not been informed about his transfer to another prison. Moreover, a hearing fixed for 4 September 1998 would also be adjourned for that reason. However, the applicant averred that he had remained in the same prison at the time when both hearings had been adjourned and he had not been served with the summonses.
29.  On 18 September 1998 the Człuchów District Court delivered a judgment in which it dismissed the applicant's claim.
30.  The applicant appealed but on 10 March 1999 the Człuchów District Court rejected his appeal. The court considered that the appeal did not comply with formal requirements for lodging it. The applicant filed with the District Court a complaint about the rejection of his appeal but the court dismissed it.
31.  Subsequently, the applicant challenged before the Słupsk Regional Court (Sąd Okręgowy) the District Court's decision to reject his appeal. On 16 November 1999 the Regional Court quashed the District Court's decision rejecting the applicant's appeal and allowed him to lodge an appeal out of time.
32.  On 18 November 1999 the case-file was returned to the first-instance court so that it could prepare reasons for its judgment. On 29 December 1999 the file was returned to the Regional Court.
33.  The applicant lodged an appeal but on 28 January 2000 the Słupsk Regional Court delivered a judgment in which it dismissed it.
34.  On 11 March 1992 the applicant filed before the Człuchów District Court another action against the State Treasury in which he claimed PLZ 10,000,000 in compensation for injuries he had sustained during the riots in the Czarne prison as a result of the assault by the prison officers.
35.  On 14 April 1992 the court stayed the proceedings in this case for the same reasons which had led to the staying of the proceedings concerning compensation for stolen belongings.
36.  The proceedings are still pending.
37.  On 23 August 1999 the European Court of Human Rights sent to the applicant a letter enclosing a copy of the respondent Government's observations on the admissibility and merits of the application. On 6 October 1999 the applicant submitted to the Court a cutting of the Court's envelope sent to him on 23 August 1999. The envelope bears the following three stamps in Polish: “Racibórz Prison, received on 02.09.1999, no. 15814”; “Katowice Regional Court, 16/18 Andrzeja Street, received on 07.09.1999” and “ Censored” (Ocenzurowano).
38.  On 30 November 1999 the Court received the applicant's letter of 23 November 1999. The envelope in which the letter was delivered bears the stamp “Censored” (Cenzurowano) and the following handwriting: “SO K-e XVI 207/99”.